


We Do Wander Everywhere

by gypsydancergirl (hauntedlittledoll)



Series: Double Double Toil and Trouble [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Supernatural
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Shakespeare is My Second Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-13
Updated: 2011-09-13
Packaged: 2017-11-14 05:13:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/511692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hauntedlittledoll/pseuds/gypsydancergirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel Singer assists Professor Crowley (Care of Magical Creatures and Head of Slytherin House) in preparing for a lesson.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Do Wander Everywhere

**Author's Note:**

> Title borrowed from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
> 
> This is a crossover in which the characters of "Supernatural" live in the world of "Harry Potter."

The walk down to the Forbidden Forest isn’t quite half a kilometer, but occasionally it feels much longer; especially when little six year old feet tire out halfway.

Any other professor would offer to carry Joanna Beth, but Professor Crowley just makes a few snide noises about small children and the untidy state of people who indulge them.

Castiel is 99% certain that is an insult.  He’s just not sure if it’s aimed at Joanna Beth, himself, or their respective parents.

However, in deference to Professor Crowley’s spotless and stylish onyx robes, Castiel is carrying his stepsister piggyback.  Joanna Beth is a great sport about this, and tries hard not to strangle him with her grip, but his scarf might be doing the work for her.

The wind picks up the fabric and twists it yet again.  The scarf is a solid navy blue, but next year . . . next year, Castiel will get his very own school scarf in his House colors.  Maybe yellow and black, if he follows his father into Hufflepuff.

Joanna Beth's loose curls escape her hood, and the wind blows them into Castiel’s face.  Castiel pauses to shift her higher and clear his vision once more.  Professor Crowley doesn’t wait for them, but continues on towards the Forest.  Castiel has to jog to catch up.

Once inside the Forbidden Forest, Castiel can finally set his charge down.  The six year old isn’t heavy, but Castiel is only ten himself after all.  Professor Crowley is temporarily busied with the sorting of his containers and the specially-spelled nets, so Castiel can take a minute to set himself and his stepsister to rights.

He tugs her cloak more firmly around her, and replaces her hood.  Then he brushes off his own robes, and readjusts his scarf.  The line of trees takes some of the bite out of the October wind, and Castiel doesn’t bother with his own hood.  Instead, he tries to smooth Joanna Beth's hair back from her face so that it will stay this time.  It’s usually a pretty futile task, but Castiel is a stubborn young wizard.

“If you’re quite finished,” Professor Crowley sniffs.  Castiel raises his hands in surrender, while the little girl beams up at the adult and holds out her hands expectantly.  The professor huffs and hands her a jar, pointing her towards a promising patch of dirt.  All three pretend not to see the bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans that accompanies the gesture.  Even Professor Crowley isn’t completely inhuman.

Once Joanna Beth is settled in the middle of the dirt patch, Crowley spins his wand in an intricate pattern, muttering a long incantation as he backs up in a complete circle around Jo's little hunting ground.  The protective barrier glows blue for a moment and settles into the earth.  Now the little girl can’t wander off, and most creatures won’t be able to pass the warding.

Joanna Beth is here to find the flobberworms that serve as a primary food source for most of Professor Crowley’s smaller creatures.  It makes her feel useful, and keeps her out from under Bobby’s feet in the Library while Ellen runs errands in Hogsmeade.

Castiel is here to help Professor Crowley round up a new batch of local pixies for the Second Years.  Pixies are a Class Three creature according to the Ministry of Magic, which means that a competent adult wizard should be able to handle them.  Castiel hasn’t even started his First Year, but Professor Crowley trusts him with a lot of the creatures that the man uses in his class.  He says that Castiel has talent and creativity with “the little beasts.”

Castiel doesn’t much like the Head of Slytherin House, but he likes magical creatures and he likes learning new things.  He’s been helping with the Care of Magical Creatures class from the time he was Jo's age and catching flobberworms in expansion charmed-jars.

So he takes his net and quietly slips into the forest looking for the electric blue coloring of the Cornish Pixie.  A few escaped into the Forest every year, and apparently thrived despite their lack of natural camouflage.  While a summoning charm would bring every pixie in the vicinity straight to you, a wizard never dealt with more than one pixie at a time.  The little buggers were mischievous, and the amount of damage they could cause increased exponentially with every pixie.

So Professor Crowley and Castiel hunt them with nets, immobilization charms, and cages.  It isn’t easy, but Castiel enjoys the hunt.  Every time he reaches into the depths of his net to free a frozen pixie, Castiel feels the same thrill as when he successfully wins over a Hippogriff and those clawed fore-legs slowly bend.

Professor Crowley requires two dozen pixies every year—one dozen for the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw Second Years and another dozen for the Hufflepuff-Slytherin class.  Originally, Professor Crowley only caught eighteen at a time.  That way, there would be the usual dozen and a few spares to replace any escaped pixies for the next class.  Then came what would be known as _The Pixie Debacle of ’19_.  Professor Crowley refused to talk about it, and every year since twenty-four pixies are caught for the first term.

Castiel is actually on pixie #24 when the upper branch supporting his weight abruptly snaps.  The pixie flies away, and Castiel crashes approximately ten meters downward through the rest of the oak’s branches.  Some kids bounce when calamity strikes like this, but Castiel’s accidental magic never actually helps him out of a tight spot, and Castiel is left desperately hoping that he can catch something before he hits the ground.

_“WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!”_

The roar comes from Castiel’s left, and he chooses to pursue the mossy ground two feet from his nose rather than watch Professor Crowley approach.  As if to add insult to injury, the pixie alights on the lowest branch to chatter at him.

“Are you a complete fool?” the professor demands, and Castiel refuses to engage in conversation until he has been restored—upright, thank you—to the ground.

As if realizing this, Professor Crowley drops him abruptly, in order to devote his full energy to verbally flaying his wayward protégé.  Castiel knows most of the insults already, so he only has to pay attention to every third word.  He sweeps one hand down his robes to remove the worst of the leaves, twigs, and dirt while respectfully waiting for the Professor to finish.  It may take a while.

The pixie doesn’t shut up either, and Castiel glares at it far above Professor Crowley’s head.  Immediately, it gives a little squeak and goes perfectly still.  It falls as if in slow motion into Professor Crowley’s outstretched hand.

The Professor taps his foot three times, sighs, and puts the pixie into the cage with the others.  “Here’s hoping that some formal schooling might actually channel your magic into some sort of self-preservation instinct,” the Professor complains, as he spells Castiel’s robes clean again.

Castiel drew himself up to his full height of 1.3 meters.  “And here’s hoping that you retire before I’m old enough to attend.”

There was a split second of silence where Castiel truly regretted saying that to a professor, and then Professor Crowley gave a slow and contented smirk.

“Touche.”

The professor spells one last (and completely unnecessary) _Scrougify_ over his shoulder, and starts back to the grove where they left Joanna Beth.  Today’s lesson appears to be over.

Castiel suspects that he shouldn’t like what he’s learned.


End file.
